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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 5 (September 1, 1927)

The Gun That Made Petone Famous. — Now an Exhibit at Trentham War Museum. — Adaptability of N. Z. Railway Workshops

page 12

The Gun That Made Petone Famous.
Now an Exhibit at Trentham War Museum.
Adaptability of N. Z. Railway Workshops.

You know the speckless cleanliness of a British Man-o-war? The golden sparkle of the high polished brass, and the whitescoured decks that even to walk upon with unregenerate civilian shoes seems a kind of sacrilege towards the God of Battle? Well, just that impression is conveyed by a visit to -of all the unlikely places in the world-the War Museum at Trentham!

It is fifteen years since Sergeant-Major T. Tustain, now in charge of the Museum, was a member of His Majesty's Navy, but the thoroughness and order which mark each unit of the Royal fleets in all the seven seas, have found their way into that instructive curiosity shop which the Defence Department maintains, for the benefit of those in search of knowledge, at its permanent camp on the outskirts of Wellington.

During the War, the compound question arose, “Could New Zealand, if required, manufacture her own ordnance; and, if so, would it pay her to do so?”

Naturally enough, the Government looked first to its own manufacturing works for an answer to the question, and the Railways being the largest manufacturing Department, it fell to the lot of the Railway Workshops at Petone to try the matter out. The gun produced there and then, and now stored, in perfect order, at the Trentham War Museum, was the Railway's answer to the Government's question.

In the course of a recent visit to Trentham we had the privilege of being personally convoyed through the Museum by Sergt. -Major Tustain. The various weapons and defensive armaments are so grouped and arranged that the development of war, and the means of war, may be traced from the earliest days right down to modern times, not only in relation to the perpetual race between offensive and defensive implements of war, but also according to their rate of progression and “ratio of efficiency” in the principal fighting countries of the world.

It comes as something of a shock, for instance, to peace-time complacency, to find that the Chinese Arsenal at Shanghai turns out rifles, revolvers, bayonets and machine guns every bit as efficient, in the quality of metal used, the perfection of fitting and general finish, and capacity for the purpose intended, as those of the Armstrong, Whitworth's, the Maxims', or the Colt's, of Great Britain and America.

One sees here a modern rifle, made in Japan, which has a clever attachment that, with one click, throws a bayonet blade into position on the barrel. And China is represented by a natty magazine revolver which fits when desired on to a miniature rifle stock. The place bristles with samples of every kind of warlike implement (except such large affairs as tanks or naval guns) used in the “big show,” together with all the later improvements. Flame throwers are placed handy to gas-masks;machine guns are grouped with steel helmets;jam-tin and cricket ball bombs lie alongside the larger bombs thrown by the “Minnies.”

Our guide was deeply interested in the whole question of Defence. “If,” he said, “the rest of the world were taking a rest so far as the designing and manufacturing of arms is concerned, there would be no need for us to worry. But,” with a sweep of his arm to include the whole museum, “these up-to-date specimens of what is being prepared elsewhere, show the need for us to be on the alert in order to avoid being caught napping.”

Sergt. -Major Tustain is a striking example of that wise dictum: “The backbone of the Army is the non-commissioned man!” His life has been spent associated with the things that go to the making of wars and rumours of wars. 15 years in the Navy has been followed page 13 by a similar term in the Army. Owing to shell-shock he is now liable to occasional lapses of memory, but with soldierly fortitude, does not allow this to interfere with his cheery outlooks upon life. His knowledge of the specimens he guards is wonderfully complete and his conversation on this theme is fascinating.

Returning to the “Gun that made Petone famous,” it is interesting to know that it is more than a mere specimen, for thousands of rounds have been fired from it in actual service. It is of the “Maxim” type, and although it has since been replaced by the lighter “Vickers” machine gun for general use in the Army, the “Maxim” is still used in the Navy, where mere weight is of small consequence. The rate of fire and range of the two guns are similar. Every part of the gun was made exactly to sample at Petone Workshops, and when it is remembered that no previous experience of this kind of work was possessed by any of the employees, that the staff was depleted by heavy enlistments, that traffic was particularly heavy owing to the mobilisation of men and materials, and that a large amount of delicate hand-machining was required, the finished product is a tribute to the high standard of Railway Workshops efficiency and patriotic endeavour.

There were no drawings available, and the staff had nothing to guide them but a condemned gun! The finished product, Mr. Tustain admits, “has its peculiarities, but” he added tolerantly, “every gun has that!”

The tripod mounting for the gun, also made by the Railway Workshops, is of the most modern type, which is so good that it is not likely to be altered. Its superiority over some of the German and Austrian mountings was demonstrated. Some of the latter were much heavier and their gun could only operate through a limited are, whereas this mounting permits of firing all round the circle without altering the position of the mounting.

Thus the Railway answer was that the Workshops could easily be adapted to the manufacture of guns instead of wagons or locomotives, but that, in view of the specialised machinery and large scale production of the British arms manufactories, it was not a sound business proposition for the New Zealand Railways to turn their Workshops into an arsenal.

So the “business as usual” attitude was reverted to, and the Railways proceeded with their normal work, for:-

“The wisest thing, we suppose, that a man can do for his land,

Is the work that lies under his nose, with the tools that lie under his hand.”

But the evidence afforded at the Trentham War Museum shows how far we are from the “World Government” of which Wells dreams, a government that “will have no army or navy” and whose “general suavity will be tempered by an effective intolerance of armaments and of the making of lethal weapons anywhere.”

List Of Parts. 1. Barrel. 2. Packing Gland. 3. Steam Escape Hole. 4. Foresight. 5. Screwed Plug for Emptying. 6. Asbestos Packing. 7. Holes in Steam Tube. 8. Barrel Casing. 9. Steam Tube. 10. Slide Valve. 11. Ejector Tube. 12. Cannelure for Asbestos Packing. 13. Gun-Metal Valve. 14. Feed Block. 15. Bottom Lever Feed Block. 16. Top Lever Feed Block. 17. Feed Block Side. 18. Upper Extractor Stop. 19. Extractor.20. Tangent Sight. 21. Gib Spring. 22. Slide Cams. 23. Cover Spring. 24. Sear. 25. Firing Pin.26. Tumbler. 27. Lock Casing. 28. Trigger. 29. Lock Spring. 30. Keeper Bracket. 31. Extractor Stop.32. Ejector Tube Spring. 33. Trigger Bar. 34. Projection on Trigger Bar. 35. Breech Casing. 36. Screwed Head. 37. Connecting Rod. 38. Crank Pin. 39. Crank. 40. Connecting Rod Spring. 41. Gun-Metal Block.42. Tangent Sight Spring. 43. Side Plates. 44. Slides, Right and Left. 45. Cover Lock. 46. Cover Lock Spring. 47. Safety Catch. 48. Milled Heads with Oil Brushes. 49. Handles. 50. Firing Lever. 51. Shutter.52. Firing Lever Spring.

List Of Parts.
1. Barrel. 2. Packing Gland. 3. Steam Escape Hole. 4. Foresight. 5. Screwed Plug for Emptying. 6. Asbestos Packing. 7. Holes in Steam Tube. 8. Barrel Casing. 9. Steam Tube. 10. Slide Valve. 11. Ejector Tube. 12. Cannelure for Asbestos Packing. 13. Gun-Metal Valve. 14. Feed Block. 15. Bottom Lever Feed Block. 16. Top Lever Feed Block. 17. Feed Block Side. 18. Upper Extractor Stop. 19. Extractor.20. Tangent Sight. 21. Gib Spring. 22. Slide Cams. 23. Cover Spring. 24. Sear. 25. Firing Pin.26. Tumbler. 27. Lock Casing. 28. Trigger. 29. Lock Spring. 30. Keeper Bracket. 31. Extractor Stop.32. Ejector Tube Spring. 33. Trigger Bar. 34. Projection on Trigger Bar. 35. Breech Casing. 36. Screwed Head. 37. Connecting Rod. 38. Crank Pin. 39. Crank. 40. Connecting Rod Spring. 41. Gun-Metal Block.42. Tangent Sight Spring. 43. Side Plates. 44. Slides, Right and Left. 45. Cover Lock. 46. Cover Lock Spring. 47. Safety Catch. 48. Milled Heads with Oil Brushes. 49. Handles. 50. Firing Lever. 51. Shutter.52. Firing Lever Spring.